August 23th: Balloon ride
One of our wedding gifts was a voucher for a balloon ride here in the area. So on short notice, we got up at 5:30 Sunday morning and drove to the Ladenburg Balloon Festival
So after having to help with the start preparations, our balloon got upright and we climbed into the basket ...
... and soon after started. It was a sort of competition ... one balloon took the lead (the "fox") and everyone tried to follow. The one that could land closest to the "fox" won the competition ...
... here over Mannheim, where the river Neckar flows into the Rhein ...
... and the two of us in the morning sun ...
... Mannheim city centre with the "water tower" and - clearly to be seen - the square planning of the city ...
... and finally in the east of Ludwigshafen, we landed on that field ... the "fox" was the blue-white balloon, which our balloonist came closest to!
After coming back to the start place, we got "christened" by the balloonist ... here the certificate is handed over after the ceremony to Thomas ...
... and here the ceremony ... christened with fire (see hair) and water!It was a good experience and once again thank you for the wonderful gift!